Programs

101. Introduction/Rebecca's Dream Introduction: An overview of the course and an introduction to the main characters in the drama. Rebecca's Dream: The story begins as we meet Rebecca Casey, a 28-year-old Boston workingwoman, who dreams of becoming a singer. We also meet her boyfriend Matt who doesn't think much of her dream, and her 17-year-old brother, Kevin, who doesn't think much about the future at all. Rebecca's considers applying for music school and pursuing her career full-time, rather than holding down a factory job and doing her music on the side. We also meet real-life immigrants and students who discuss the similarities between Rebecca's experiences and their own. Grammar lessons: be: present tense, affirmative statements; subject pronouns; imperatives.

102. Differences/A Visit To The Doctor Differences: Rebecca starts to apply to music schools. Her father, a widowed, disabled firefighter, worries that she is choosing a chancy career, and that Kevin is not studying hard enough to graduate. Rebecca's best friend at the factory where she works is Sandy, who admires Rebecca, but in her own life, just wants to settle down and raise a family. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: be: present tense, negative statements; indefinite articles a and an sentences with there is/there are; compound sentences with and. A Visit To The Doctor: Rebecca's father has a worrisome checkup from his doctor. He has to eat better and exercise, or face a possible heart attack-advice he ignores. At a Memorial Day barbecue, Rebecca talks to Sandy about Sandy's boyfriend Jack, who shows up drunk and belligerent. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: be: present tense, yes/no questions; short answers to yes/no questions with be; possessive adjectives and possessive nouns.

103. Celebrations/Breaking The News Celebrations: Rebecca's father has a worrisome checkup from his doctor. He has to eat better and exercise, or face a possible heart attack-advice he ignores. At a Memorial Day barbecue, Rebecca talks to Sandy about Sandy's boyfriend Jack, who shows up drunk and belligerent. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: be: present tense, yes/no questions; short answers to yes/no questions with be; possessive adjectives and possessive nouns. Breaking The News: Rebecca's father tells Rebecca that he is against the San Francisco plan, but Kevin supports her. Sandy will move in with her difficult boyfriend, Jack. Rebecca and Kevin go shopping for a used car that she can drive across the country to San Francisco, but have no luck. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: present continuous tense, negative statements; wh- questions with who and what; compound sentences with but.

104. Saying Goodbye/Leaving Home Saying Goodbye: Kevin graduates from high school, and Rebecca, after several rejections, is accepted into the San Francisco College of Music. She hopes to live free in San Francisco with her godmother. After telling Sandy the good news, she plans to confront her father. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: present continuous tense, affirmative statements; definite article the; noun phrase: article + adjective + noun. Leaving Home: Rebecca's father surprises her with the car and gives her a necklace that belonged to her mother. Kevin gives Rebecca a four-leaf clover key ring and Sandy gives her a diary. Driving out of Boston, Rebecca stops at her mother's grave. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: future with going to; wh- questions with where; adverbs and prepositions to tell where.

105. The Stranger/The Motel The Stranger: Rebecca's father tells Rebecca that he is against the San Francisco plan, but Kevin supports her. Sandy will move in with her difficult boyfriend, Jack. Rebecca and Kevin go shopping for a used car that she can drive across the country to San Francisco, but have no luck. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: present continuous tense, negative statements; wh- questions with who and what; compound sentences with but. The Motel: Rebecca and Alberto reach a phone, but can only leave a message on a garage's answering machine because it's already so late. They drive to a motel, where Rebecca gets the only room left. Alberto must sleep in the car. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: simple present tense, negative statements; demonstrative adjectives; demonstrative pronouns.

106. Negotiations/Photos and Farewells Negotiations: Rebecca gives her final music lesson, while her father secretly goes shopping for a car to give her. After her last softball game, the team gives Rebecca a farewell present and Rebecca and Matt break up. After the segment, Matt reflects on the storyline. Grammar lessons: present continuous tense, yes/no questions and short answers; wh- questions with when; prepositions to tell when (present time). Photos and Farewells: On their way to the bus station, Alberto and Rebecca stop in a beautiful canyon, where Alberto takes some photographs of her. They say goodbye at the bus, and both realize that they're interested in each other, but Rebecca doesn't want a boyfriend at this point in her life. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: be: past tense, affirmative and negative statements; be: past tense, yes/no questions and short answers; count and non-count nouns.

107. A New Home - Rebecca's father surprises her with the car and gives her a necklace that belonged to her mother. Kevin gives Rebecca a four-leaf clover key ring and Sandy gives her a diary. Driving out of Boston, Rebecca stops at her mother's grave. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: future with going to; wh- questions with where; adverbs and prepositions to tell where.

108. Job Hunting/A Bad Day Job Hunting: When Rebecca reaches the Southwest in her cross-country drive, the car starts leaking oil and finally breaks down on a deserted road. Rebecca gets worried when a stranger approaches on foot out of the desert. He turns out to be a photographer, Alberto, who can't get her car running, but does take her in his own car for help. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: simple present tense, affirmative statements; direct object nouns; direct object pronouns. A Bad Day: Rebecca finds the job search frustrating and shares her disappointments with another boarder. Alberto shows up, and says her wants to tour her around San Francisco - and that he has surprise for her. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar review be: past tense, affirmative and negative statements; be: past tense, yes/no questions and answers; be: past tense, wh- questions and short answers.

109. Job Hunting/A Bad Day Job Hunting: When Rebecca reaches the Southwest in her cross-country drive, the car starts leaking oil and finally breaks down on a deserted road. Rebecca gets worried when a stranger approaches on foot out of the desert. He turns out to be a photographer, Alberto, who can't get her car running, but does take her in his own car for help. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: simple present tense, affirmative statements; direct object nouns; direct object pronouns. A Bad Day: Rebecca finds the job search frustrating and shares her disappointments with another boarder. Alberto shows up, and says her wants to tour her around San Francisco - and that he has surprise for her. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar review be: past tense, affirmative and negative statements; be: past tense, yes/no questions and answers; be: past tense, wh- questions and short answers.

110. A Night Out/First Day of Class A Night Out: Rebecca and Alberto reach a phone, but can only leave a message on a garage's answering machine because it's already so late. They drive to a motel, where Rebecca gets the only room left. Alberto must sleep in the car. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: simple present tense, negative statements; demonstrative adjectives; demonstrative pronouns. First Day of Class: Rebecca finds her first day of classes at the San Francisco College of Music intimidating and expensive. She likes the after-school program a lot, and meets Alex and his best friend, Vincent Wang. Meanwhile, Alberto is working on a deal with some investors who want to buy his parents' restaurant. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar review: direct object nouns and pronouns; grammar lessons: direct object infinitives: affirmative and negative statements; direct object infinitives: yes/no questions and short answers.

111. Casey at Bat/The Art Gallery Casey at Bat: While Rebecca and Alberto have breakfast, the garage tows the car and starts to work on it. But the repairs will cost $800, so Rebecca sells the car to the garage for $550, and plans to take the bus all the way to San Francisco, after turning down Alberto's offer to take her along with him. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: simple present tense, yes/no questions and short answers; possessive pronouns; can (ability, possibility). The Art Gallery: Ramon is worried that his ex-wife may take Alex to Los Angeles with her. On her date with Alberto, Rebecca discovers that a photograph he took of her in the canyon is on display at the gallery. The Mendoza family talks about the possibility of selling the restaurant, but Ramon is very against the idea and the parents need more time to consider the idea. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar review: simple present tense, affirmative and negative statements; simple present tense, yes/no questions and short answers; simple present tense, wh- questions and answers.

112. The Picnic / Prejudice The Picnic: On their way to the bus station, Alberto and Rebecca stop in a beautiful canyon, where Alberto takes some photographs of her. They say goodbye at the bus, and both realize that they're interested in each other, but Rebecca doesn't want a boyfriend at this point in her life. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: be: past tense, affirmative and negative statements; be: past tense, yes/no questions and short answers; count and non-count nouns. Prejudice: Rebecca and the staff of the after-school program explain to the kids why racist names should not be used, and a guest police officer talks about hate crimes. All the kids in the program write cards to Vincent to encourage him to come back to the program. The episode includes reflections on the story by Emma Washington, the woman who runs the after-school program. Grammar review: simple past tense, affirmative and negative statements (regular verbs); simple past tense, yes/no questions and short answers (regular verbs); simple past tense, wh- questions and answers (regular verbs).

113. A Difficult Decision/Guitar Lessons A Difficult Decision: Rebecca arrives in San Francisco, and is surprised to discover that her godmother Nancy keeps other boarders too, and that she will have to pay rent as well. Grammar lessons: simple past tense, affirmative and negative statements (regular verbs); simple past tense, yes/no questions and short answers; adverbs and prepositions to tell when (past time). Guitar Lessons: The Wangs agree to the guitar lessons. Alex tells his father that he should date Rebecca, but at the same time, he hopes his parents reconcile. Ramon tells Rebecca that he may have to go to court to prevent his ex-wife from taking Alex to Los Angeles. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: should and must: affirmative and negative statements; yes/no questions and short answers; compound sentences with and, too, and either; tag questions with be, should, and can.

114. The Retirement Party/The Phone Call The Retirement Party: Rebecca has a difficult time getting used to life with other boarders at Nancy's house. At school, Rebecca learns that her work-study program has been canceled so she goes on a job search and meets some interesting prospects. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar review be: present tense, affirmative and negative statements; be: present tense, yes/no questions and short answers; be: present tense, wh- questions and answers. The Phone Call: Mr. Mendoza announces that they won't sell the restaurant. Rebecca's godmother arrives with the message that Rebecca's father has been taken to the hospital in Boston. Rebecca leaves the party, planning to fly back to Boston. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: have to: present tense, affirmative and negative statements; yes/no questions and short answers; have to: past tense, affirmative and negative statements; yes/no questions and short answers; compound sentences with or.

115. Bad News/Brothers Bad News: Rebecca and Alberto see the city and Rebecca meet Alberto's family -- the Mendozas -- who are now close to retiring from their family restaurant, the Casa Mendoza. Alberto has a divorced brother, Ramon, with a 10-year-old-son, Alex. Ramon suggests Rebecca take a job with his son's after-school program. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: can and could (ability, possibility); can you/could you/would you (requests); can, could, and may (permission). Brothers: Brendan Casey arrives and reconciles with his brother just before he dies. Funeral arrangements are made, and friends and relatives are contacted. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: adverbial phrases and clauses: one action before or after another action; adverbial phrases and clauses: two actions at the same time; past continuous and simple past tense.

116. Review/The Emergency Review: Rebecca finds the job search frustrating and shares her disappointments with another boarder. Alberto shows up, and says her wants to tour her around San Francisco -- and that he has surprise for her. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar review be: past tense, affirmative and negative statements; be: past tense, yes/no questions and answers; be: past tense, wh- questions and short answers. The Emergency: Kevin meets Rebecca at the Boston airport and tells her their father's heart attack was very serious. At the hospital, the doctor is not optimistic. Kevin and Rebecca return home, and Rebecca finds the house a mess and without food. She questions Kevin about it but soon another call takes them back to the hospital. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: past continuous tense, affirmative statements; past continuous tense, negative statements; stative verbs.

117. A Box of Memories/The Missing Car A Box of Memories: Rebecca is a hit teaching softball and gets a full time job at Alex's after-school program. Alberto sends flowers and asks her to a gallery opening Saturday evening. But his brother, Ramon, is starting to appreciate Rebecca, too. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar review: present continuous tense, affirmative and negative statements; present continuous tense, yes/no questions and short answers; present continuous tense, wh- questions and answers. The Missing Car: The Casey family goes out for an oyster dinner and Rebecca and Kevin give their grandmother's ring to Brendan. After dinner Kevin takes Uncle Brendan's rental car to go see an old girlfriend. Rebecca questions why she ever went to San Francisco in the first place. Brendan and Anne suggest that Rebecca and Kevin come stay with them on their Illinois farm for a while. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: present perfect continuous tense, affirmative statements; present perfect continuous tense, negative statements; comparative and superlative adjectives.

118. Bad News/Brothers Bad News: Rebecca and Alberto see the city and Rebecca meet Alberto's family -- the Mendozas -- who are now close to retiring from their family restaurant, the Casa Mendoza. Alberto has a divorced brother, Ramon, with a 10-year-old-son, Alex. Ramon suggests Rebecca take a job with his son's after-school program. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: can and could (ability, possibility); can you/could you/would you (requests); can, could, and may (permission). Brothers: Brendan Casey arrives and reconciles with his brother just before he dies. Funeral arrangements are made, and friends and relatives are contacted. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: adverbial phrases and clauses: one action before or after another action; adverbial phrases and clauses: two actions at the same time; past continuous and simple past tense.

119. Changes/The Farm Changes: Ramon and Rebecca have a nice chat at a picnic for the after-school program, but are interrupted when some racist kids taunt Vincent Wang for being Chinese. Alex tries to defend him, but some of the other children in the program don't take the incident seriously. Vincent's father is so upset he pulls Vincent out of the program. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar review: count nouns; non-count nouns. Grammar lessons: sentences with there was/there were. The Farm: Rebecca and Kevin enjoy a tour of Brendan and Anne's farm. Kevin decides that he will stay and help Brendan on the farm and Rebecca decides to return to San Francisco. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: direct speech; present conditional statements; future conditional statements

120. Grief/Life Goes On Grief: Rebecca finds her first day of classes at the San Francisco College of Music intimidating and expensive. She likes the after-school program a lot, and meets Alex and his best friend, Vincent Wang. Meanwhile, Alberto is working on a deal with some investors who want to buy his parents' restaurant. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar review: direct object nouns and pronouns; grammar lessons: direct object infinitives: affirmative and negative statements; direct object infinitives: yes/no questions and short answers. Life Goes On: The family reads the condolence cards and friends drop by with food. Uncle Brendan and his wife Anne offer to help Rebecca and Kevin any way they can. Rebecca tells Kevin they need to decide what they are going to do. They argue and Kevin tells her he can take care of himself. As they go through financial papers, they discover family mementos. The episode is followed by reflections on the story by Frank Wells, Patrick Casey's longtime friend. Grammar lessons: present perfect tense, affirmative statements; adverbials with present perfect tense; present perfect tense and simple past tense.

121. A Box of Memories/The Missing Car A Box of Memories: Rebecca is a hit teaching softball and gets a full time job at Alex's after-school program. Alberto sends flowers and asks her to a gallery opening Saturday evening. But his brother, Ramon, is starting to appreciate Rebecca, too. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar review: present continuous tense, affirmative and negative statements; present continuous tense, yes/no questions and short answers; present continuous tense, wh- questions and answers. The Missing Car: The Casey family goes out for an oyster dinner and Rebecca and Kevin give their grandmother's ring to Brendan. After dinner Kevin takes Uncle Brendan's rental car to go see an old girlfriend. Rebecca questions why she ever went to San Francisco in the first place. Brendan and Anne suggest that Rebecca and Kevin come stay with them on their Illinois farm for a while. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: present perfect continuous tense, affirmative statements; present perfect continuous tense, negative statements; comparative and superlative adjectives.

122. The Breakdown/A Call For Help The Breakdown: Ramon is worried that his ex-wife may take Alex to Los Angeles with her. On her date with Alberto, Rebecca discovers that a photograph he took of her in the canyon is on display at the gallery. The Mendoza family talks about the possibility of selling the restaurant, but Ramon is very against the idea and the parents need more time to consider the idea. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar review: simple present tense, affirmative and negative statements; simple present tense, yes/no questions and short answers; simple present tense, wh- questions and answers. A Call For Help: Kevin apologizes for taking the car. In the morning, Brendan again invites Rebecca and Kevin to come to the farm. The conversation is interrupted by a call from Sandy who says that Jack has hit her again and she's leaving him. Rebecca and Kevin go to her apartment to help her. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: direct object gerunds: affirmative and negative statements; direct object gerunds: yes/no questions and short answers; subject gerunds.

123. Changes/The Farm Changes: Ramon and Rebecca have a nice chat at a picnic for the after-school program, but are interrupted when some racist kids taunt Vincent Wang for being Chinese. Alex tries to defend him, but some of the other children in the program don't take the incident seriously. Vincent's father is so upset he pulls Vincent out of the program. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar review: count nouns; non-count nouns. Grammar lessons: sentences with there was/there were. The Farm: Rebecca and Kevin enjoy a tour of Brendan and Anne's farm. Kevin decides that he will stay and help Brendan on the farm and Rebecca decides to return to San Francisco. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: direct speech; present conditional statements; future conditional statements.

124. True Love/Friendship True Love: Mr. Mendoza announces that they won't sell the restaurant. Rebecca's godmother arrives with the message that Rebecca's father has been taken to the hospital in Boston. Rebecca leaves the party, planning to fly back to Boston. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: have to: present tense, affirmative and negative statements; yes/no questions and short answers; have to: past tense, affirmative and negative statements; yes/no questions and short answers; compound sentences with or. Friendship: Kevin arrives in San Francisco just as Rebecca is finishing the new recording of her song. Alex and Vincent conspire to spend New Year's Eve together before Vincent moves to Taiwan. Bill tells Rebecca he is moving to Los Angeles to pursue his music career and won't be returning to school next semester. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar lessons: passive voice: simple present tense, affirmative and negative statements; passive voice: simple present tense, yes/no questions and short answers; prepositional phrases with by in passive voice statements.

125. Thanksgiving/Starting Over Thanksgiving: Rebecca and the staff of the after-school program explain to the kids why racist names should not be used, and a guest police officer talks about hate crimes. All the kids in the program write cards to Vincent to encourage him to come back to the program. The episode includes reflections on the story by Emma Washington, the woman who runs the after-school program. Grammar review: simple past tense, affirmative and negative statements (regular verbs); simple past tense, yes/no questions and short answers (regular verbs); simple past tense, wh- questions and answers (regular verbs). Starting Over: Rebecca returns to San Francisco and learns that she has lost her job in the after-school program. The episode includes a review and a brief discussion. Grammar review: wh- questions with who, what, when, where, why, and how long; grammar lessons: wh- questions: who/what as subjects; who/whom/what as objects; wh- questions with what/which/how much/how many (+ noun).